Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

well, my boy was born when i was 16. mom thru me out of the house, so had to quit school and get a job. caught on laboring for a roofing company in S.E. texas.

was crew foreman before my 21st birthday, moved the (now ex) wife and kids to ohio for a fresh start. remained a crew foreman 'till age 25 when i decided to start working for myself.

ran my own crew for the next 7 years, until my entire crew ended up hooked on crack or meth, and i'd had enough.now i'm the chief inspecter/lead repair tech for the biggest residential roofing company in the state of ohio.

i fell in love with aquaponics about 4 years ago, and would really like to make a living designing/building/maintaining the systems we love so much.

then i could walk away from the roofing biz.

My life seems so... plain compared to the colourfull and veriety of jobs other people have done... besides for my part time job while studying to be a teacher I have only ever been a teacher...

AM, Plain is often synonymous with content, it a good thing

yeah, I guess I do enjoy working with the kids and seeing them grow and mature.......

finished high school, went to QUT to do arts, only thing i could get into with my results, then after two years swapped to an animals studies course at Gatton campus UQ and went to the St Lucia campus for the third year of hat degree. Was bored at the end of that and the girlfriend still had another year so decided to follow my interest in bird colour and did an honours year researching the melanocortin one receptor in indian ring neck parrot. completed that and applied to get into vet science but took a year off to do some work and pretend to be a grown up.

For work I have three jobs; on weekends I work at pet city at mt Gravatt and do after hours emergency vet nursing at the Uni so that is what I am doing when I post at 1.30 am and then I am also a research assistant for a phd student at UQ. Funnily enough I am employed as there animal man, who would of thought.

I did a bachelor of engineering in computer systems, and have worked about 15 years in process control, mainly in the mining industry. This included about 3.5 years at a marine electrical outfit, sitting next to a dodgy drafty named Joel. Although I first met Joel when we moved to Perth 30 years ago
Did summer jobs as a gardiner/labourer, and part time work as stocktaker (someone who counts stock for busisnesses rather than a metaphor for thief) while studying.

Interesting Nick. You'd know some stuff I'm interested in perhaps.

What do you think of the concept of using vegetable based canthaxanthin as an antioxidant and colour enhancer in fish? The animal base has proved problematic and so the FDA has put the kybosh on canthaxanthin period, to my understanding.

Personal trials years ago revealed the vegetable product to be remarkable in it's resistance to sunburn (you got red, slap it, didn't hurt, tanned next morning!). This coupled with it's anti-oxidant capabilities made it a far more interesting medical find than it's actual use - tanning bodybuilders.

The tan was a bit less hideous than oro-bronze. Thing is, to get the tan you'd take three or four times what your body needed to get a tan. As opposed to 25% dosage giving sun protection and excellent recovery times from training.

I'm interested in antioxidants for fish due to fish food having to be bought in bulk - longer storage - rancidity, etc.

aquaadict you are way out of my league, my research was on the genetic isolation and sequencing of the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) I had a look into the red factor carotenoids as they are differrent to the psittacofulvins that give parrots there y whole ellows and reds.

To sequence the gene associated with the psittacofulvins was my very original aim but considering they have very little clue about it in any terms, we swapped to the MC1R gene which was still a bastard and even after a year of hard work we still only had half of the sequence.

Any way as far as canthaxanthin is involved I somewhat recognise the name but that is about it, sorry to disapoint you.

Did not finish school, my actual trade is a surgical shoe maker, finished that, hated it, became a carpet layer, got my pilots license, not enough money flying little aircraft, started my own carpet business, helped a mate build a 42 foot sloop (wood epoxy) liked that and decided I was now a boatbuilder, meanwhile did 2 years of an accountancy degree and did not want to become like them, sold the carpet business, moved to PNG to build boats but did loads of other things there, more than 400 dives all around PNG, have sailed most of the Western Pacific, still building boats.... (somewhere in there found most beautiful damsel, produced 4 offspring, one is a Teacher, next one is a Software Eng, next one is a Public Serv “Federal”, and the last one flies 747’s = 6 grand ankle biters....)
I am still trying to work out what I am going to do when I grow up !!!
Hold on !!!! I have found my calling...I am an Aquaponist !!!!!!!!
Muzza....

lol, SURe SOUNDS LIKE A FULL AND EVENTFULL LIFE...

Retired from U.S. Navy Submarines, was a sonarman listening to all the fishies, went into industrial maintenance for 5 years then industrial refrigeration for 2 years curently waiting on an ethonal plant to call me and make a job offer because im running a bit low on funds. Crossing my fingers and setting up a system.

Hi,

It's good to come across a fellow submariner (although I stepped off my last boat in 1974). I was an Engineering Mechanic so, unlike you, I'd be struggling to hear a train much less the fish.

Welcome aboard!

Thanks Gary, I finished that chapter in 96, good times for the most part. Submariners Do It Deeper!

What an eclectic mix.........

I currently work as a manager in IT.

Before that:
- Software Engineer
- Teacher/lecturer/coach

I am qualified in a variety of areas, including IT and Physiology.